本文最主要的目的有二。其一為評估「民主和平論」是否依然有效地解釋「戰爭與和平」議題。若然，那麼同為自由主義的「貿易和平」是否相較之下之解釋力較佳。第二則是個案研究，聚焦於「南海爭端」用以進一步驗證本文的論述。本文認為以制度層面而言，貿易量事實上相較於政治體制是較能降低衝突帶來和平。 / This thesis has two purposes: the first one is to re-examine “Democratic Peace” and to testify “Trade Peace” with an eye to finding a more explainable solution on the issue of Conflict and Peace; and the second purpose is by providing a case study centering on the region of the South China Sea, the premise of this thesis will further be evaluated. The premise in here is that from an institutional perspective, trade is the more efficient and less costly method to reduce the possibility of initiating armed conflicts than polities.

Research has shown that news media reporting on foreign affairs tend to rely heavily on official sources (e.g. Schwalbe, 2013; Entman, 2004; Lawrence, 2009). This thesis analyse whether this is the case in Swedish news media reporting on the armed conflict in Mali, where Sweden has troops sanctioned by the UN. A more broader perspective is also analysed: How does the news media portray the armed conflict, and are there any differences between national daily newspapers (considered more “sober”) and national evening newspapers (considered more sensational)? An inductive framing analysis is used to identify frames not available in previous research. These frames, together with frames identified in other studies, are then used in a quantitative content analysis to measure to what extent the frames occur in the texts. Among the most important findings were that Swedish news media did in fact rely on Swedish official reporting to a large extent. The two evening newspapers, Aftonbladet and Expressen, used Swedish official sources in approximately 60% of their articles. The daily newspapers, Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet, used Swedish official sources in about 35% of their articles. The main source used was also analyzed: This showed that Swedish official sources were the most common, in between 23% to 62% of the articles. The second most used source differed, but were in the range 9% to 18%. Other important results of the main themes of the articles showed that direct actions of war and other types of violence were the most commonly used. Peace efforts/negotiations and life of Mali civilians were the least common. The thesis also concludes that while there are variables where the evening newspapers and the daily newspapers can be grouped in those categories, that is often not the case.

Armed conflicts of our time tend to be prolonged, characterised by indiscriminate violence and the direct targeting of civilians. These conflicts cause situations where civilians are not only at risk of being exposed to threats of direct violence, but also unbearable humanitarian situations, a form of indirect harm resulting from armed violence. Current protection regimes only address direct harm to civilians, which leaves a significant protection gap. Previous research has identified a possibility for recognising severe humanitarian conditions as a basis for international protection in recent human rights law developments. This thesis explores if the right to a dignified life can further address this form of indirect harm to civilians and create assessment criteria for providing international protection to persons fleeing severe humanitarian conditions caused by armed conflict. The right to a dignified life is constructed from theories on human dignity as a basis for human rights, as well as case law from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights. The results show that the right to a dignified life is able to provide criteria for assessing the severity of a humanitarian situation and establish a threshold for triggering international protection, but several legal difficulties remain for its practical application. / Dagens väpnade konflikter tenderar att vara utdragna och komplexa. De karaktäriseras ofta av urskillningslöst våld och våld riktat mot civila. Väpnade konflikter i vår tid har orsakat svåra humanitära situationer, som innebär att civila inte endast riskerar att utsättas för skada till följd direkt våld, utan även en form av indirekt skada till följd av våld. Nuvarande skydd för den som flyr väpnad konflikt omfattar endast den som riskerar skada som en direkt följd av väpnat våld. Detta innebär att det finns en lucka i existerande skydd som behöver adresseras. Tidigare forskning har identifierat en möjlighet att inkludera även personer som riskerar att utsättas för skyddsgrundande behandling på grund av humanitära situationer i den senaste utvecklingen i regionala människorättsdomstolar. Denna uppsats undersöker huruvida rätten till ett värdigt liv kan adressera allvarlig skada som en indirekt följd av väpnad konflikt och skapa kriterier för när en humanitär situation ska omfattas av internationellt skydd. Rätten till ett värdigt liv konstrueras med hjälp av teorier om mänsklig värdighet samt praxis från Inter-Amerikanska domstolen för mänskliga rättigheter och Europadomstolen för mänskliga rättigheter. Resultatet visar att rätten till ett värdigt liv kan erbjuda kriterier för att bedöma allvaret hos en humanitär situation och aktivera internationella skyddsmekanismer, men finner att det kvarstår juridiska svårigheter för att applicera i verkliga fall.

La présente thèse étudie le lien entre la capacité à construire un monde de paix et la place accordée aux femmes dans la société. Elle étudie plus particulièrement les instances dont la charge principale de sauvegarder la paix leur a été confiée par la Communauté Internationale - les Nations Unies et le Comité International de la Croix-Rouge et du Croissant-Rouge - que ce soit au sein de leurs systèmes propres, qu’au sein des programmes et missions conduits par ces dernières à travers le monde. Cette thèse cherche à montrer en quoi la paix est un concept qui ne se caractérise pas uniquement par l’absence de conflit et de destruction entre des nations et des peuples, mais aussi par la construction et le développement de sociétés modernes, libérées, justes, ainsi plus sûres. Et en quoi les inégalités qui touchent les femmes dans l’ensemble des sociétés, le non-respect de leurs droits, ainsi que leur marginalisation dans les milieux de pouvoir, politique et militaire, sont en contrepartie de réels facteurs d’instabilité, d’insécurité et un risque pour la paix mondiale. / This thesis studies the link between peacebuilding throughout the world and women’s position in society. It studies more particularly the main institutions which were entrusted the responsibility of protecting peace by the International Community – the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red-Cross and the Red-Crescent – within their own system and within programs and missions worldwide. This thesis tries to demonstrate that peace is a concept which is not only characterized by the absence of conflict and destruction between nations and people, but also by the development of modern, freed, right, equal, then safer, societies. And in what, as the disparities between women and men and the disregard of women’s rights, as their marginalization in the political and military circles of powers, threaten world stability and security, and constitute a risk for international peace.

The Irish peace process is heralded as a success among insurgencies that attempt transitions toward peaceful resolution of conflict. After thirty years of armed struggle, pitting Irish republicans against their loyalist counterparts and the British State, the North of Ireland has a reconfigured political landscape with a consociational governing body where power is shared among several parties that hold divergent political objectives. The Irish Republican Movement, whose main components are the Provisional Irish Republican Army, a covert guerilla armed organization, and Sinn Fein, the political party of Irish republicans, initiated peace that led to all-inclusive talks in the 1990s and that culminated in the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in April 1998, setting out the parameters for a non-violent way forward. Given the traditional intransigence of the IRA to consider any route other than armed conflict, how did the leadership of the Irish Republican Movement secure the support of a majority of republicans for a peace initiative that has held now for more than fifteen years? This dissertation explores the dynamics of leadership in this group, and in particular, focuses on the prisoner resistance waged by its incarcerated activists and volunteers. It is the contention here, that various prisoner resistance tactics enabled a wide-ranging group of captives to develop the skill set necessary to persuade their community to back the peace initiative, engage in electoral politics, mobilize their supporters to invest in attaining a united Ireland by peaceful negotiations, and put down their arms in a permanent and unequivocal manner. In this dissertation, the work of Paulo Freire is explored in order to capture the processes inherent the resistance-leadership continuum.

During the last decades, the presence of visual media has increased dramatically. However, very little empirical research has been carried out to determine the implication of the medium photograph as a visual information transmitter. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the characteristics of professional press photos that relate to war and armed conflicts and to examine the framing of victimhood. A thorough literature review as well as an iconographic interpretation of World Press Photos serves to ascertain data in order to permit answering the research questions.   The World Press Photo Foundation is the subject of research as it represents the most prestigious international competition for press photography at present and thus acts as an agenda-setter. That highlights the implication of its decisions about professional photographs since its coverage of certain issues biases the international media coverage of the same. It also affects the development of professional photojournalism. In this context the meaning of photographs in today’s visual media societies can be discussed.

This thesis examines the experiences of girl child soldiers in Uganda in order to explore the gender gaps that exist in post-conflict programming and to engender meaningful policy solutions that target these gaps. This thesis uses a gender lens to analyze the challenges faced by Ugandan girls and to explore how entrenched gender norms feed into a singular narrative of conflict – dangerous boys and traumatized girls – that renders particular combatants – and their unique needs – invisible. Adopting a feminist methodology that prioritizes the importance of girls’ narratives and self-perceptions, the author argues that girl child soldiers must be meaningfully included in the design and implementation of programming aimed at serving their needs. A participatory action research methodology is presented as a promising way forward. It can help address specific gendered challenges in the post-conflict environment, while also recognizing and drawing upon the resiliency and strengths of the girl child soldiers themselves.

This thesis examines the experiences of girl child soldiers in Uganda in order to explore the gender gaps that exist in post-conflict programming and to engender meaningful policy solutions that target these gaps. This thesis uses a gender lens to analyze the challenges faced by Ugandan girls and to explore how entrenched gender norms feed into a singular narrative of conflict – dangerous boys and traumatized girls – that renders particular combatants – and their unique needs – invisible. Adopting a feminist methodology that prioritizes the importance of girls’ narratives and self-perceptions, the author argues that girl child soldiers must be meaningfully included in the design and implementation of programming aimed at serving their needs. A participatory action research methodology is presented as a promising way forward. It can help address specific gendered challenges in the post-conflict environment, while also recognizing and drawing upon the resiliency and strengths of the girl child soldiers themselves.

The right of child victims of armed conflict to recovery and reintegration in essence is a particular exposition of the public law relationship. In this study reference is made to the theory of public subjective rights as it applies in German law to explain the relationship. Shortcomings in the theory are identified after which aspects of the Reformed Tradition are discussed to come to sound solutions. An effort is made to establish a theoretical framework in terms of which the relationship can be explained comprehensively. The conclusion is reached that particular status aspects of child victims are activated in their relationship with the State. It is only in terms of the negative and positive status aspects (which relate to the juridical destination of the State) that child victims may demand negative or positive State conduct in their favour. / Thesis (LL.M.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011

The right of child victims of armed conflict to recovery and reintegration in essence is a particular exposition of the public law relationship. In this study reference is made to the theory of public subjective rights as it applies in German law to explain the relationship. Shortcomings in the theory are identified after which aspects of the Reformed Tradition are discussed to come to sound solutions. An effort is made to establish a theoretical framework in terms of which the relationship can be explained comprehensively. The conclusion is reached that particular status aspects of child victims are activated in their relationship with the State. It is only in terms of the negative and positive status aspects (which relate to the juridical destination of the State) that child victims may demand negative or positive State conduct in their favour. / Thesis (LL.M.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011